James Milner aims to star in his Manchester City ‘big season’

JAMES MILNER has vowed to prove that he is good enough to earn a place in Manchester City’s all-star team.

James Milner was reduced to a bit-part player at the business end of the season []

An unconvincing first season with Manchester City failed to reassure fans he was worth the £26million fee that secured his services from Aston Villa.

After being a regular in the first half of the campaign, James Milner was reduced to a bit-part player at the business end of the season, when he was disappointed to be an unused substitute in the FA Cup semi-final and final wins over Manchester United and Stoke respectively.

But Milner does not regret leaving Villa, has dismissed rumours he could move on and is happy to fight for his place, especially as City are launching a first Champions League campaign.

“It’s a big season for me,” said Milner. “You come to a new club and it takes time to find your bearings. But now I want to get a foothold in the team and prove to people that I’m good enough to be here and in the team regularly.

Winning silverware is the only reason why I came here

James Milner

“Winning silverware is the only reason why I came here. We did that last season and that showed it was the right move for me. At the end of your career you look back and you want to see a trophy cabinet full of winners’ medals.

“You want to be able to tell people, ‘I’ve won this, this and this’. That’s what drives me on. That’s what I feel I can achieve at this club. I want to be the best player I can and win trophies.”

Milner believes his best position is in midfield but he is up against players such as Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and David Silva in that department while, on the flanks, Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips offer stiff competition, with Mario Balotelli also a wide-man option .

Milner said: “It is tough to get in the team but that’s what happens when you’re at a top club like this. You want to be pushed as a player, you want to improve .

“When you have two or three top-class players in each position it’s good for everyone. It is good for the club, the manager and the players because it really challenges you.

“It will make me a better player watching these guys play and train. You know you have to play well and train well if you’re going to get a shirt on the Saturday.”

Milner is excited by Champions League football and believes City can make an impact.

He said: “A lot of the lads here have played in the Champions League before, even if we haven’t as a unit, so we’ll be looking to learn quickly and make a real impact. It’s going to be a real challenge and one we’re really looking forward to. We’re going to be playing top teams every week, there will be a lot of games, a lot of competitions. But the squad we have here is big enough to do well in all of those.

“I’ve never played in it before. I missed out on it at Leeds by a couple of years. I’ve played UEFA Cup/Europa League at Leeds, Newcastle, Villa and City. I’ve got to the quarter-finals of those competitions, but this is a real step up. It’s going to be a great experience.

“You want to play for your country and the top competitions – and that obviously means the Champions League.”

Milner believes that Sir Alex Ferguson is right to be wary of City’s emerging title threat after they finished level on points with Chelsea last season.

“Yes, it’s a boost to hear that,” said Milner. “You hear positive and negative things said about you , but we’ll get on with our job. We know we have to improve as a club and a team but we think we can carry on moving forward.

“You look to improve every year and we did that last year. Now we’ll be looking to do that again. Finishing third was a very good season for us and also winning the FA Cup.

“But now we’ll be looking to top that, so a natural progression would be to finish second and really push hard for the title. We think it could be a possibility.”

JAMES Milner was speaking in Los Angeles, where City have announced plans to create a state-of-the-art football facility to serve local children.